Championship Previews: Monday Games
With McCracken County and Scott County already having punched their tickets to Rupp Arena next week, there are 3 more champions to be decided tonight. Here’s a breakdown of all 3 games. 6th Region: Fern Creek vs Jeffersontown (at Valley)…
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Continue ReadingWith McCracken County and Scott County already having punched their tickets to Rupp Arena next week, there are 3 more champions to be decided tonight. Here’s a breakdown of all 3 games.
6th Region: Fern Creek vs Jeffersontown (at Valley)
Tale of the Tape: Fern Creek comes in at 27-6 overall and riding a 14 game winning streak and haven’t lost since the LIT Championship game. Jeffersontown is 21-8 overall. This is the 4th game between the Tigers and Chargers with Fern Creek winning all 3 previous games by margins of 10, 9 and 6 points.
Matchup to Watch: Jaden Rogers Jaden Rogers 6'1" | PG Fern Creek | 2021 State KY vs Jaylen Fairman Jaylen Fairman 5'11" | PG Jeffersontown | 2021 IN . Two of the best point guards in the state are also two of the best prospects in the 2021 class. Fairman is more of a distributor while Rogers is a scoring point but the winner of this game is likely to be whichever point guard performs better.
X Factors: Cearius Warren (Fern Creek) and Trevis Oglesvy (J-Town). Both players are transfer post players as Warren arrived from Southern and Oglesvy appeared at J-Town after spending the last 3 seasons playing in Indiana. Both are big bodies but Oglesvy is going to have to help contain Warren and Darrius Washington on the block. If Warren can put together a double-double or better for the Tigers, you have to like their chances against J-Town.
Prediction: Fern Creek wins 58-52
13th Region: Harlan County vs Knox Central (at Corbin Arena)
Tale of the Tape: Harlan County comes in at 24-10 and riding a 5 game winning streak while Knox Central is 24-8 with a 4 game winning streak. Knox Central beat Harlan County 70-59 back on January 2nd (at Knox).
Matchup to Watch: Jevonte Turner Jevonte Turner 6'2" | CG Knox Central | 2022 State KY vs Trent Noah Trent Noah 6'7" | SF Harlan County | 2024 State #139 Nation KY . Jevonte is a dynamic combo guard who can play on or off the ball but is at his best going downhill and attacking the rim. Noah is starting at the point guard spot as an 8th grader. Noah’s size can give Turner some problems but there are questions about how well he can guard someone as athletic as Turner.
X Factors: Taylor Spurlock (Harlan County) and Zach Patterson (Knox). Spurlock is the leading scorer for HC and is a match-up nightmare at 6’7. If he is making threes tonight, Harlan will be hard to guard. Patterson is a do it all weapon for the Panthers. If he can get close to his average of 15 points per game, Knox has a good chance to cut the nets tonight.
Prediction: Knox Central 74, Harlan County 62
15th Region: Martin County vs Lawrence County (at Appalachian Wireless Arena)
Tale of the Tape: Martin County is 21-12 and brings a 12 game winning streak into the title game. Lawrence is 22-11 and has won 4 in a row to get to this point. Martin County beat Lawrence 74-42 on 12/6 and 61-53 on 2/4.
Matchup to Watch: Tyler Maynard Tyler Maynard 6'1" | CG Lawrence County | 2020 State KY vs Brady Dingess Brady Dingess 5'11" | PG Martin County | 2022 State KY . The two highest scorers for their respective teams, it remains to be seen if they will actually guard each other but the scoring load is going to fall on both of them. Maynard probably needs to score 30+ for Lawrence to win.
X-Factors: Trey James (Martin County) and Cody Maynard (Lawrence). Trey has been very consistent all year. The X-factor there is if Lawrence can get him in foul trouble. Cody Maynard has been the second best scorer on the team all season long but if there were a time for him to break out, it’s now. A big game could go a long way towards a championship win.
Prediction: Martin County 68, Lawrence County 64